Improvement in steam-condensing and water-heating tanks



2 Sheets--Shee1 I.

G. N. TYLER. Steam-Condensing and Water-Heating Tanks.

AM mara-umosimPmc ca 1v.x(osson-s.s Macias) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES N. TYLER, OF BUFFALO, NEWYORK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,634, dated J one 3,1873; application filed February 25, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAS. N. TYLER, of th city of Bufl'alo, in thecounty of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain Improvementsin SteamGondensing and Water-Heating Tank, of which the following isaspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 represents an elevation of a condenser and water-heaterhaving my improvements applied thereto, and Fig. 2 a vertical section ofthe same. Fig, 3 represents a plan with the top or cover removed, andFig. 4 a horizontal section through the line a x of Fig. 1, lookingupward and Fig. 5, the same sectional view looking downward. Fig. 6represents a view partially in section and partly in elevation of thespray device and its connections detached from the condenser.

It has long been an object to reclaim and utilize the waste heat fromthe exhaust of an the condensing apparatus, by means of which I am notonly enabled to eliect a most rapid condensation of the exhaust steam,so as to relieve the engine from back pressure, but a more perfectcondensation, whereby the heat is more perfectly reclaimed andaccumulated for useful and economic purposes; as, for instance, it maybe applied to the supply of the boiler with hot instead of cold water,thereby saving fuel, and to the warming of the enginehouse, and forheating and manufacturing purposes generally, where such is capable ofbeing effected through the instrumentality of hot water, either in astationary or circulating condition.

To enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use myinvention, I will now proceed to describe its parts, and the mode ofputting them together, in detail.

The outer wall or side A of the apparatus is intended to be made ofwooden staves securely bound together with hoops in the manner of abarrel, or it maybe made of other watertight material having a lowcapacity for conducting heat; or it may be made of metal coated on theoutside with any suitable and known non-conducting material.

This vessel may be made of any suitable shape and of any requiredcapacity, so as to adapt it to the amount of work to be performed by it;but as a rule it will be made of circular or cylindrical form, providedwith apermanent or removable water-tight bottom, B. The top is open, butprovided with a removable cover, 0, in the center of which is arrangedan opening, into which is screwed the end of a small pipe, at, for thepurpose of allowing the uncondensed steam to escape into the open airunder certain circumstances; as, for instance, such escape might benecessary in heating a small quantity of water for rapidly supplving theboiler with hot wateron tirst starting the ,g fire, but as a rule nototherwise. This pipe may be provided with a stop-cock to open or closeit, as desired.

The tank A is further provided with an annular plate or false bottom, D.which is firmly secured to it in any suitable and well-known manner, andis made of iron or other strong and good heat-conducting material. Tothe upper edge of the opening b in the plate D is firmly secured ametallic cylinder, E, which extends up to within a short distance of thetop of the main tank A. '1 his cylinder, with the wall and bottom D ofthe main tank A, forms an annular water-chamber, F. VVit-hin and to thecylinder E is firmly secured,by

is securely attached to the bottom. of cylinder G, in such manner thatwhile rendering chamber Gr water-tight it itself is left open at bothends for the passage of the cold-watersupply piped, which, however, ismade of I smaller diameter in order to leave a free passage for steamaround the latter between it and cylinder H. 1

By reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, it will be observed that thecold-water-supply pipe (I, in order to be connected with the supply tankor pump, extends through the wall of the tank Afrom below the falsebottom 1), and above the water-line of the lower waterheatingcompartment I, and hence in the space into whichthe exhaust steam isfirst discharged into the condenser, and from thence is prolongedupward, as before mentioned, through the inner cylinder H, until itterminates, at its upper extremity, in a cupshaped opening, e, having anenlarged and down- 'wardly-flaring rim or edge, shown in Fig.2,

over which the water slowly flows and falls into annular chamber G,forming a spraycondenser for the steam as it passes up thr iigh theinterior cylinder Hfrom chamber lo the upper end of supply-pipe d,immediately below cup 0, is secured one end of a cold-water-supply pipe,f, for chamber F, the other or lower end of which is connected with ashort supply-pipe, g, of another spray-condenser J, an enlarged view ofwhich and its connections is shown in Fig. 6. Pipe f is prolonged beyondconnection g in a downward direction to within a short distance of falsebottom D, to form a siphon, for a par pose to be hereafter referred to.In the horizontal part of pipef are inserted two stopcocks, h and t,with connecting-pipe 9 arranged between them, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4,for reasons to be hereafter explained. The handles of these stop-cocksare prolonged upward, and project through the cover 0, in their coursepassing through stuffing-boxes similar to those shown atj, Fig. 6. Inthe same way connection 9 of spray condenser J is provided with astop-cock, K, the handle of which is made, for convenience of handling,to protrude through a stufling-box, 1, provided for the purpose in theside of tank A, a short distance above false bottom D. (See Fig. 6.)

By this arrangement the operation of spraycon n er J can be started orstopped at any moment.

w an regard to the construction of the spray-condenser itself, it may bemade and secured to bottom D in any well-known or suitable manner as,for instance, it may consist of a short pipe, m, closed at itsunattached end and perforated with a number of fine holes, and inclosedwithin an open cylinder, J, to which the steam, by a suitableconnection, n, with the exhaust-pipe 0 from the engine, has free access,and from which that which remains uncondensed may escape by means ofopenings p into chamber I, there to be afterward condensed, in themanner hereafter to be described. The pipe 0, which conducts the exhauststeam into the condenser, is made to pass through stnffing-boxes in thewall of tank A, near its bottom, as shown in I Fig. 2, a clear space,however, being left between it and the bottom, so that it shall beperfectlyflsurrounded with water. For this purpose the lower compartmentI is partially filled with water, the height of which is limited by agoose-neck connection, g, which communicates with the interior ofcompartment I, and allows the escape of all water above that depth, theobject of which is to leave a large steam-space'between the bottom D andthe top of the water for the free admission of the exhaust steam of theengine for condensation, only a few inches of water being allowedrtoremain in that chamber over and above what is necessary to cover the exhaust-pipe To as it enters, and that simply to facilitate condensation.L represents a pipe, which forms a communication between waterchambers Fand G, through their respective bottoms, a stop-cock being inserted atthat end which projects through the bottom of chamber F, by means ofwhich to open up or shut off the communication whenever de-' sired, theend of the handle like handle k, being made to pass through astuffing-box in the side of tank A. A similar communication, but at apoint above, between the same chambers F and G, is made by means of ashort pipe, 8, which is made to pass directly through cylinders H and G,and to which it is firmly secured; it being also provided with astop-cook, w, for stopping the communication between them, the handle ofwhich projects, like the others, through a stumngbox in the side of tankA.

The object of having two, the one arranged above, the other below, is toestablish a circulation between them whenever desired.

M represents a pipe for conducting the heated water off to whateverpoint it may be desired to do so, and is intended, where the water is tobe used for supplying feed-water to the boiler, to be connected to theforcepump for that purpose. It is connected by three branch pipes withthe different water-compartments,the lower one, t, with compartment I,the one o with the central chamber G, and the other, a, with the largeouter chamber F. Each of these branch pipes is provided with a stop-cockbymeans of which to open or close their communication with the main pipeM, so that .the water may be drawn from any chamber separately, or .fromany two or all three at a time, as may be desired. Thus constructed, theoperation is as follows: First, let us suppose that hot water is desiredto be got quickly for the supply of the boiler when first started, andlet us suppose that both chambers F and G are empty. This beingunderstood, the cock of the cold-water pipe d is then turned to admitthe water into chamber G, and the handles h and i both turned on ifchamber F is desired to be filled, also; the cock is of connection-pipeg is then turned off to prevent the escape of the water throughspray-condenser J, and so with the cooks of both chambers are filled,which will be discovered by the overflow of water at the mouth of thegoose-neck w on the outside of the main tank A, near the top 0. As soonas this takes place, and the water also wastes at goose-neck q, near thebottom of compartment I, the stop-cock of cold-water pipe at is turnedoff to stop the supply, and the steam-exhaust meanwhile having beenturned on through pipe 0, the water in tank G will be speedily heated tothe requisite degree, on which the stop-cock of pipe 11 is turned tosupply pipe M with hot water for the pump to force into the boiler. Thechamber G will provide sufficient hot water for the supply of the boileruntil the main tank F is heated to the requisite temperature, when thecook a may be turned on to admit the water from chamberF intosupply-pipe M, and so with pipe t from chamber I, on which the cock ofthe cold-water pipe 01 may be turned on to refill chamber G, after whichthe cocks of circulating-pipes L and S may also be turned to establish acommunication and circulation between the waters of the two chambers Fand G to equalize the temperature of the water contained in each. Thisdone, cock 1 of the siphon end of pipe f may be turned off and cock k ofpipe 9 turned on, so as to allow the passage of cold water throughspray-condenser J in order to establish a speedy condensation of thesteam. When the condenser J is connected in this way to pipe f, chamberF receives its supply from chamber G through pipes L and S.Spray-condenser J is also capable of being supplied from chamber Fthrough the lower or siphon end of pipe f by cutting off thecoldwater-supply cock h and turning on the stopcock z'. When thecondenser is run in this way, if it is desired to supply chamber Fdirectly from cold-water pipe j, a branch pipe with accompanyingstop-cock may be connected to pipe f at any suitable point betweenstop-cock h and its connection with the main cold-water-supply pipe 01.From what has been said it will be seen that the apparatus can be soworked as to supply water either of a diiferent or of a commontemperature by withdrawing it from any particular chamber or from anytwo or all three simultaneously,

. and now it only remains to show the sufficiency of the means forprocuring a rapid and perfect condensation. To this end the exhauststeam is made to enter at the bottom of compartment I through a pipe, 0,immersed in water at its lower end, and thence upward into an opencylinder, J, by means of pipe at, where it is subjected to the action ofa coldwater spray ejected from a spray-condenser, J 5 from here such asremains uncondensed passes out through openings 1) into the empty spaceformed between the false bottom D and the upper water-line of chamber I.Here ,ex-

pandin g, it is brought in contact with the bottom of chambers F and G,and thence upward between the cold surfaces of cylinders E and G and Gand H, and in the latter case up through the spray formed by theoverflow of cold water from the flared rim of cup 0 on the top ofcold-water pipe (1, by which time but little is left uncondensed, thecold inner surface of the cover 0 finishing the condensation of thatwhich had escaped. It is here to be observed that the action of thelarge steamreceiving chamber I, coupled with the great extent ofcondensing-surface exposed to the waste steam, effect so rapid acondensation as to create a partial vacuum, which, so far from causing aback pressure on the engine, tends rather to facilitate the exhaustingprocess by its demand upon the steam to fill the vacuum as fast asformed.

If desired, the cylinders E, Gr, and H may be corrugated so as toincrease the condensingsurface and compel a more perfect contact betweentheir surface and the steam.

Beside supplying the boiler with hot water the water thus heated may beused for a variety of useful and industrial purposes here unnecessary tobe described, as such will readily suggest themselves to those requiringthe assistance of such an agent.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination of thewater-chambers F, G, and I, as arranged and constructed for operation inthe manner set forth.

2. The combination of the condensing-sup faces E, Gr, and H, as arrangedfor the purpose set forth,

3. The combination of the pipes L and S,

and their respective stop-cocks, with the chambers F and G, for thepurpose set forth.

4. The combination of piped for the supply of cold water and itsoverflow c with chamber G and steam-chamber H, the whole being arrangedin the manner and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of cold-water pipes d, f, and g, and stop-cocks h, i,and-k, with chamber F, for the purpose set forth.

6. The spray-condenser J and steam-pipe 0, in combination with thesubject-matter of the fifth claim, for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination of hot-water pipe M and its branches t, u, and v,'andtheir respective stop-cocks, with chambers F, G, and I, for the purposesset forth.

8. The combination of the goosenecks q and w with the chambers F and Iand coldwater-supply pipe 0?, for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES N. TYLER.

Witnesses:

E. A. SIRICKLER, A. U. TYLER.

